£10 million boost for 58 arts and cultural organisations in the North East

Beamish Museum is one of 1,300 venues and organisations to benefit from the Culture Recovery Fund. Credit: Beamish Museum

Beamish Museum is among more than 1,300 arts venues and organisations to receive up to £1 million each from the Culture Recovery Fund.

The County Durham living history museum will be given £970,000 to support it through winter from the Government's £1.6 billion pot.

In September, Beamish Museum, which employs more than 400 staff, announced that 59 jobs were at risk of redundancy, due to the ''devastating effects'' of Covid-19.

In a statement Beamish Museum said:

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the cash would ''protect these special places'' which ''form the soul of our nation''.

The funding will help performances to restart, assist venues to plan for reopening, protect jobs and create freelance opportunities, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said.

Today's recipients are venues and organisations who applied for less than £1 million, with future releases of up to £3 million going to larger organisations in the future, it added.

Mr Dowden said: "This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation.

"It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector's recovery.

"These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country - from the Beamish museum in County Durham to the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Bristol Old Vic."

Jobs are at risk at Beamish Museum due to the pandemic. Credit: Beamish Museum

The announcement comes after Rishi Sunak was accused of an "incredibly insulting" attitude towards the arts by frustrated workers currently unable to earn an income.

The Chancellor was criticised last week when, during an interview about the effect of the pandemic on people working in the arts, he spoke about the need to "adapt" and suggested there would be "fresh and new opportunities" available for those who could not do their old jobs.

But Mr Sunak has denied he was suggesting people in the struggling creative industries should retrain and find other jobs after coronavirus left them unable to work.

According to Arts Council England, the arts and culture industry contributes more than £10 billion a year to the UK economy, with £3 spent on food, drink, accommodation and travel for every £1 spent on theatre tickets.

Sarah Maxfield, Area Director North, Arts Council England said: “The pandemic has had a massive impact on the whole range of organisations working in the North’s cultural sector - theatres, music venues, festivals, museums and the companies who support them with technical sound, light and staging services.

"The cultural sector makes a huge contribution to The North’s economy, quality of life and communities. Today we are announcing much needed investment and support from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to a group of organisations across the North - with more announcements in the coming weeks - providing an essential lifeline so the cultural sector can survive and come back strongly in the future.”

Full List of Successful Applicants from across North East  

Alphabetti Theatre

Amber Film & Photography Collective

Cobalt TOO CIC

D6 Culture Ltd

Dance City

Digital

Generator North East

Independent Sunderland

Liberdade community development trust

Mandylights UK Ltd

MBC Arts Wellbeing

Mi Viejo Fruta Ltd

North East Theatre Trust Ltd

Northern Stage (Theatrical Productions) Ltd

Pink Lane Jazz Coop Ltd

Pop Recs Ltd

Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children's Books

Shindig Events Ltd

SQDL t/a Boiler Shop

Sunderland Culture

Surface Area Dance Theatre CIC

The Crack Ltd

The Creative Seed CIC

The Extreme Stunt Show Ltd

Think Tank

Tony Hopkins Entertainments Ltd

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Tyne Theatre and Opera House Limited

Workplace Gallery

Beamish Museum

Durham & Darlington Music Education Hub

Durham County Council

National Youth Choirs of Great Britain

Regeneration NE CIC

The Witham Hall Ltd

Ushaw College

Alnwick Playhouse

APL Event Ltd

C&D Circus Productions Limited

Headway Arts

Hexham Book Festival

Mortal Fools

Queen's Hall Arts

Satellite Films

The Alnwick Garden

The Maltings Berwick Trust Limited

Beck & Harper Limited

Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum

Festival of Thrift

Hartlepool Borough Council

Heugh Battery Museum

KLSD C.I.C.

Middlesbrough Town Hall

Stockton Arts Centre Ltd

Tees Music Alliance

Tees Valley Arts

The Auxiliary Project Space

The Forum Music Studios